Unhyeongung Palace: Free & Quaint

With five palaces in Seoul to choose from when visiting the capital of South Korea, it’s easy to head to the biggest and grandest of them all, Gyeongbukgung Palace, and call it a day. I often recommend the palace to tourists saying that if they’ve only a short time, it is a must see. That isn’t to say that the other four main palaces shouldn’t be seen though and I was reminded that this past weekend when I had some time and stopped into Unhyeongung Palace or Royal Residence (운현궁) that sits quietly along the road just south of Bukchon.

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While tourists are scrambling to the other palaces these days, and seriously, the Chinese tourist buses that line up in front of the palaces are getting out of control, but this one is relatively devoid of tourists. On my visit, just a handful of tourists were there and a Korean family in Hanboks taking pictures to celebrate the birthday of their one year old. This palace was the residence of Emperor Gojong, the 26th king of the Joseon dynasty. He lived here before he took the throne. The information explains that this residence was owned by Gojong’s father, Regent Heungseon and he ruled over the country from here for ten years after he took control in place of his son. Originally, there were gates that connected this palace to Chandeokgung Palace in order for King Gojong and the regent to go back and forth unfortunately now those gates no longer exist. This palace is more akin to an inner palace as it is quite small though what you see today is even smaller than it was in the beginning due to a portion of it being sold off after the Korean War.

The halls that exist today make for beautiful backdrops for some photos in Korea. Making it even easier to get some good shots, there is a Hanbok rental stand just inside the entrance with a very minimal fee of just around W3,000. You can rent Hanboks and walk around the area taking some beautiful photos without a bunch of people mulling around in the background.

The Blogger

My name is Hallie Bradley and I am writer, photographer (most of the time), influencer and dreamer behind The Soul of Seoul. I originally hail from Dayton, Ohio, USA but have called Seoul, Korea my home since 2006. This site shares the sights, sounds and spaces that I have uncovered here in Korea as well as where my multicultural family travels. To learn more about me, click here. Have a question, comment or want to get in touch? Email me: admin@thesoulofseoul.net

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